Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 25, 2:45 AM ET

TRAX max pain

Spot (delayed)$43.97
Max pain · Fri, Jan 15$30-31.8% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$13±29.6% by Fri, Jan 15
Put/Call OI0.21117 puts / 563 calls
Call wall$30largest call OI
Put wall$35largest put OI
IV3085.9%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$10Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $15

Event risk before this expiration: FOMC decision Wed, Oct 28 · Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 · Jobs report Fri, Dec 4 · FOMC decision Wed, Dec 9 · CPI release Thu, Dec 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 20$35-20.4%26d
Fri, Dec 18$40-9.0%54d
Fri, Jan 15$30-31.8%82d
Fri, Apr 16$30-31.8%173d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot3051831445770$2M$0
■ put-side pain■ call-side painTotal payout option writers would owe at each settle price (both sides, all open interest, ×100 shares) — low settles hurt put writers, high settles hurt call writers. The minimum — 30 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot3051522.5355065274274
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)TRAX open contracts per strike for Fri, Jan 15.

Open-interest change: building vs unwinding

Needs two observed snapshot days for this expiration; the comparison appears automatically once the next weekday snapshot lands. We diff real observations only; nothing is estimated.

Volume by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot3051522.53550651010
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot51831445770286%76%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 76.8% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spotflip 1551522.5355065+$6K−$6K
Net dealer gamma per strike, in dollars per 1% move, assuming the standard convention (dealers long calls, short puts) — an assumption, not an observation. Above the amber flip level hedging tends to dampen moves; below it, to amplify them.

Greeks by strike · Fri, Jan 15

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.97-0.0117.50.00280.02-0.01-0.03
0.95-0.01200.00380.02-0.01-0.05
0.94-0.0222.50.00510.03-0.02-0.06
0.92-0.02250.00680.03-0.02-0.08
0.86-0.03300.01100.05-0.03-0.14
0.78-0.03350.01590.06-0.03-0.22
0.68-0.04400.02010.08-0.04-0.32
0.57-0.04450.02250.08-0.04-0.43
0.46-0.04500.02270.08-0.04-0.54
0.37-0.04550.02150.08-0.04-0.64
0.30-0.04600.01940.07-0.04-0.71
0.24-0.03650.01710.07-0.03-0.78
0.19-0.03700.01480.06-0.03-0.83

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 13 strikes around the money — all 17 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot15254055702740
Call open interest per strike, stacked across the checked expirations — each color is one expiry. Strikes are pruned to the liquid center of each chain.

All expirations combined — total open interest

spot2.512.522.54060288288
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 734 call contracts, 195 put contracts open.

Reading this honestly

Max pain is arithmetic, not prophecy: the settle price that would minimize what option writers pay out at expiration, computed from open interest alone. Prices sometimes gravitate toward heavy strikes into expiry — dealer hedging is a real flow — but the evidence that max pain predicts settlement better than chance is mixed, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Use it as a map of where positioning is stacked, next to the fundamentals and the earnings calendar, not as a target.

Data: Cboe delayed public feed (~15 minutes), refreshed here about every 15 minutes. Open interest itself updates once daily, before the open. Educational information, not investment advice.

Keep going: TRAX workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk